August 31, 2010 Volume III, Issue 1 _______________ IN THIS ISSUE…... Page 1 Congratulations CCYLA Page 2 Message From The President CCYLA Mission Statement Page 3 2010-2011 Officers and Board of Directors Pages 4 Summer Mixer Thank You Page 5 Profile In Professionalism Bryan D. Nichols Comic Relief Page 6 Profile In Professionalism Cynthia A. Jezek Special Events Page 7 Profile In Professionalism Elizabeth Valdez Garza Save the Date Page 8 Free CLE- Don’t Miss Out Sneak Peek Into Upcoming Projects Page 9 Congratulation Members Page 10 CCYLA Application Congratulations CCYLA!!! L-R, David Irwin (CCYLA Board Member), Noemi Garcia (CCYLA President), Cori Harbour (Immediate TYLA Past President), and Philip Snyder (CCYLA Treasurer) On July 24, 2010, the Cameron County Young Lawyers Association attended the State Bar of Texas Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas and received the Texas Young Lawyers Association Local Affiliates Second Place Service to the Public Award for the CCYLA Lawyers Lending Hands project aiding victims of domestic violence and the First Place Newsletter Award for your very own Sidebar. Thank you to everyone who helped CCYLA achieve these very distinguished awards. Stay up to date with CCYLA news and events by visiting CCYLA’s website at http://affiliates.tyla.org/cameron/ . Or become a friend of ours on Facebook at www.facebook.ccyla.org . It’s back….introducing the new and improved Cameron County Young Lawyers Association’s newsletter ----SIDEBAR, your source to CCYLA news, articles and events. So enjoy and as always, thank you for supporting CCYLA. Cameron County Young Lawyers Association SIDEBAR Page 1
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Contact your 2010-2011 Officers and Board of Directors. Tell us your ideas for service projects and let us know how CCYLA can help you.
Cameron County Young Lawyers Association
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Summer Mixer
Despite the thunderstorm, on July 8, 2010, the Cameron County Young Lawyers Association held
a Summer Mixer open to all summer interns, clerks, and law students living and working in Cameron County. This was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to network and meet future colleagues. We
would like to thank everyone who attended the mixer and made this a great event.
A special thank you to U.S. District Court Judge Hilda G. Tagle, Karen Betancourt and the UTB Pre-Law Academy for attending the mixer. And an extra special thank you to our mixers sponsors
Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., Rodriguez & Nicolas, LLP, the Law Office of Noemi Garcia and
the Law Office of Michael Martinez.
CCYLA plans to hold its mixers on a bi-monthly basis in an effort to connect attorneys with each other to exchange ideas, make new friends and business contacts in a relax atmosphere. To sponsor a
CCYLA mixer please contact Mauricio Chavez or Philip Snyder at (956) 542-4377. Sponsors receive recognition at the mixer, the Sidebar and the CCYLA website.
Our next mixer is September 16, 2010, we will be announcing the location really soon. Hope you will join us.
Cameron County Young Lawyers Association
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Page 6
Profile in Professionalism
Bryan Damien Nichols was born in Houma, Louisiana, on August 30, 1978, but was raised
in the Houston, Texas area (the Atascocita/Kingwood area). After graduating from Humble High
School, he enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Bryan graduated from Baylor in May
2000, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa.
Thereafter, he enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, where he
graduated in 2003. Bryan has been a licensed Texas attorney since 2003. He has also studied
abroad in Thailand and the Netherlands.
After practicing in downtown Houston for six (6) years, Bryan joined the law firm of
Ransome & Ray, P.C., where he specializes in construction and commercial litigation. He ha s
lived in Brownsville for approximately ten (10) months, and enjoys the beach and the warm,
vibrant culture the area has to offer. He proudly serves on the Board of Directors of both Healthy
Communities of Brownsville and the Brownsville Literacy Center. Bryan enjoys writing,
traveling, hunting, and reading philosophy and poetry. He is an avid book collector.
Glad you are a CCYLA member Byan and best of luck to you.